Automatic mine-car-door opener



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F. SZEMANSKE.

AUTOMATIC MINE CAR DOOR OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED DE,C.1, 1920.

Patented; May 2, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEEY I.

Swoon/Lto@ F. SZEMANSKE. l AUTOMATIC IVIINE CAB DOOR OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I, 1 920.

Patented May 2 1922;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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FASTEN SZEMANSKE, OF PARSONS,'PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC TINE-CAR-DOQR OPENER.

Application filed December To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, FAs'rnN SZEMANSKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Parsons, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania. have i vented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Mine-Car-Door Openers, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is the provision of means for mine cars whereby the door or tail board thereof may be automatically opened as the car is in motion in order to allow the contents to remove from the car.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which like characters of reference refer to likenamed parts in the drawings. j

Referring briefly to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mine car, showing also my device.

Fig. Q

same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational View of the same. l

Fig. 4L is fragmentary perspective view of the front of said car, the latter being inverted.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the tripping members.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the forward end of said car showing the door in open position.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the numeral l represents the side walls of a mine car and 2 the door thereof hingedly attached to said side walls at 3. Attached to the underside of the car, adjacent each wheel 6 at the forward end, is a substantially S- shaped member 4, the same being pivotally attached to said underside by a pin 5. The front end of said member 4C is provided with a hook-like extension 7 adapted to grip the door 2, and the rear end thereof is provided with a rounded head 8 adapted to act in the manner of a cam as will presently become apparent.

At the point in the path of the car at which it is desired to unload the contents, a bridge 9, supported upon posts 10, is plant-` ed bridging the tracks. On each of said posts l() a horizontal support is mounted, near the base of the post, indicated at 11. A pair of rods 13 are slidably mounted in is a side elevational view of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1922..

i, 1920. serial No. 427,465.

said support at right angles thereto, and a shoe 14 is rigidly attached to the ends of said rods. Coiled springs l2 surround said rods and urge said shoe outward from said support. The surface of the forward end of said shoe is inclined as shown at 15.

In operation, as the car approaches the bridge 9, shown in l, the surfaces l5 of the shoes la contact with the heads 8, causing the members 4 to swing about the pivots 5 so as to withdraw the hooks 7 from the edges of the floor 2. Thereupon the door is res leased, whence the weight of the contents of the car, generally coal, causes said door to open as seen in Fig. 6, allowin the contents to pass out. After the car has een emptied, the door is again closed by simply forcing it into closed position, whence the hooks. 7 by virtue of the force of the springs 16, snap against the edges of the door and thus lock the latter in closed position.

I claim:

l. In combination with a mine car having a door pivotally attached thereto, members pivotally mounted on the undersideA of said car, means on one endof each of said members for gripping said door, a cam-like head on the other end of said member, springs normally urging said gripping means against the edges of said door, and means mounted adjacent the path of. said car adapted to contact with said heads to trip said members so as to release said door from said gripping means.

2. In combination with a mine car having a door pivotally attached thereto, members pivotally mounted on the underside of said car, means on one end of each of said members for gripping said door, a'cam-lilre head on the other end of said member, springs normally urging said gripping means against the edges of said door, and means mounted adjacent the path of said car adapted to contact with said heads to trip Vsaid members so as to release said door from said gripping means, said last-claimedmeans comprising supports, shoes slidably and resiliently mounted in said supports, said shoes having inclined surfaces adapted to engage said heads.

In witness whereof I afiix my signature.

FASTEN SZEMANSKE. Witness:

BERNARD BURKE. 

